A Question of Belief

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The 19th in the Commissario Brunetti series of novels is now in paperback and Donna Leon shows no signs of running out of ideas, situations and red herrings for the charming Commissario and his legions of fans. Like Agatha Christie novels you know it will be revealed but you try desperately to solve the mystery yourself. This time, as ever with Venice as the beautiful backdrop Brunetti looks for the killer of a seemingly ‘good man’ who worked in the local courthouse…

Synopsis

A Question of Belief by Donna Leon

As Venice experiences a debilitating heatwave, Commissario Brunetti prepares to escape the city and spend time with his family in the mountains. For Ispettore Vianello, however, the weather is the last thing on his mind; it appears his aunt has become obsessed with horoscopes and has been withdrawing large amounts of money from the family business. Not knowing what to do, he consults Brunetti and asks permission to trail her. This 'unofficial' investigation leads them to the flat of Stefano Gorini. But who is this man? And why is Vianello's aunt giving him large amounts of money? Meanwhile, Brunetti receives a visit from a friend who works at the Commune. It seems that discrepancies have been occurring at the Courthouse involving Judge Luisa Coltellini and Araldo Fontana, an usher with a flawless track record. Intrigued, Brunetti asks Signorina Elletra to find out what she can while he is away on his family holiday. When news reaches Brunetti that Araldo Fontana has been murdered in a violent attack, he returns to the city to head up the investigation. But why would someone want a good man dead, and what might his death have to do with the discrepancies at the Courthouse? It soon becomes clear that things are not what they seem, and as suspicions arise Brunetti has to dig ever deeper to uncover the truth behind the facade.

Reviews

Leon's books are a joy, and the 19th Venice-based Commissario Brunetti novel is well up to her consistently high standard * Guardian * Leon excels in the claustrophobia of families, the Italian class system and the sinister aspects of Venice that the tourists don't see -- Marcel Berlins * The Times * To read a Donna Leon novel is to have an armchair holiday in her lovingly described Venice, in the company of an old friend - the amiable Commissario Brunetti . . . Leon never fails to impress with her carefully wrought plots and believable characters * Daily Mail * Knowingness, or an illusion of knowingness, is essential to successful crime-writing . . . Donna Leon has mastered this technique perfectly -- Jonathan Keates * TLS * Donna Leon has established a special hold on the reader's imagination, so it is almost easier to imagine the Commissario returning to lunch with his feisty wife, just round the corner, than almost any other fiction character in the immortal (we hope) city. . . A Question of Belief is particularly enjoyable...Donna Leon's great skill is to invest the characters in her crime novels with a kind of humanity, even the wrongdoers. . . [a] marvellous evocation of the magic city, and its inhabitants of all types -- Antonia Fraser * The Lady *

About the Author

Donna Leon is the author of the international best-selling Commissario Guido Brunetti series. The winner of the CWA Macallan Silver Dagger for Fiction, among other awards, Leon was born in New Jersey and has lived in Venice for thirty years.